The Irish standard., 1887-07-02

forms is an acknowledgment on the
part of the English people that the sue
cesive Imperial Parliaments have, pre-
vious to the date of their passage and
enforcement, inflicted grievous wrongs
on certain classes in Great Britain and
Ireland. The same will undoubtedly
be admitted in few years concerning
the constitutional agitation of to-day
for an Irish Parliament. Now, as to
coercion. All these changes have been
bitterly contested by the Governments
in power. More particularly has this
been tie case with regard to any re-
form specially calculated to benefit the
suffering peasantry of Ireland. For a
time it no doubt had the desired effect,
but the spirit Of the people was strong
within them and rebelled against serf-
dom, and the consequence was that in
time the laws which were intended to
enforce submission of most humiliat-
ing character became a dead letter.
1t would be folly to assert that any of
the above reforms ranked equal in inn
portance to the one that is now agita-
ting the minds of the Irish people. Of
course from religious standpoint the
Emancipation Act was just as great a
matter Of Importance, but it only af-
fected a section of the people, while Pro-
testants have united with Catholics in
demanding Home Rule, and denouncing
the existing condition of the manage
ment of affairs as de .rimental to the
best interests of the Irish people as a
whole.
At this juncture the following ques-
tion stares us IN the face From what
source can the Home Rulers hope to
draw their greatest strength in fighting
the battle of Irish self-government :?
There is only one reasonable answer to
this question, from the working classes
of England, Ireland, Scotland and
Wales. Now what do the workingmen
think of the present political situation :?
This question, though apparently SIM
pie, is by no means easy to answer.
Those who are generally classified as
workingmen, namely the manual labor
ers, very much resemble other people
who think at all-they differ widely in
their opinions on the great public ques-
tions of the day. It cannot, therefore,
always be truthfully said that there ex-
lists working class opinion as dis.
tinguished from the opinions of the
rest of the community. But the forces
which operate on, or form, the minds of
the different classes may produce
widely varying results. From the fact
that the working CLASSES haye nothing
to gain by the mismanagement of Irish
affairs, and are therefore not the
obedient servants of prejudice, better
and more prolific results can reasonably
be expected. The worklngmen can
have no wish to maintain the union be-
tween England, Ireland and Scotland,
otherwise than in spirit of justice to
the Irish people and on terms Of perfect
equality. The old anti-Irish feeling
which operated with such force, bitter
ness and intensity among English work.
men and artisans some years ago is fortu-
nately disappearing, and all the attempts
Of interested parties to revive it seem
utterly futile. They now realize that
Ireland has suffered from misgovern-
ment for centuries, and there ex-
lists genuine desire to make amends
for past errors and to do justice to that
country. They know that when the
Irish people asked for reforms they
were invariably met with a drastic
measure for coercion. This, we say,
they know, and of a thousand other in
stances of cruelty being inflicted upon
Ireland by English mlsgovernment.
Why they have been led to arealization
of this can be found in the fact that in
spite of the unreasoning Discrimination
of the more intelligent class of English
workingmen in the past to even so
much as discuss the question of the leg
islative independence Of Ireland, the
agitation that has been carried on by
the Irish Nationalists with that object
and advocated in broad, generous,
candid spirit has had the effect Of gain
ing their support. They recognize in
the spirit and workings or the Irish Ma
tional League some similarity between
it and their own labor organizations.
Now that this point has been gained
we contend that consid derably more than
half the battle has been won. Should
Mr.. Gladstone again 90 to the country,
which is altogether probable, we have
no doubt whatever that he will re-
ceive an overwhelming endorsement of
his Irish policy, and this we can safely
say is due to the agitation which has
been carried on by the Irish National
lists.
MANITOBA DEFIANT.
And now comes Manitoba saying that
she will no longer submit to the disas-
tro11a nolicv Of tha Dominion Govern.